The book of Revelation is full of symbolism that—similiar to Jesus’ parables—can take effort to unravel but feels rewarding to make plain.
So what exactly does the phrase “worthy is the lamb” mean?
Power in Music
Quoting scripture in Revelation 5, the song Worthy Is The Lamb That Was Slain from Handel’s Messiah proclaims “blessing and honor, glory and power be unto Him forever”. Like other choruses of the Messiah, it lines up precisely with text from the Bible. The verses are cherrypicked from Revelation 5 that center around the Savior’s perfect sacrifice.
The lamb with 7 eyes and 7 horns (7 representing perfection or completion) that John saw was the only one “worthy” to open the scroll. When the lamb takes the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne a powerful symbol emerges as the beasts and elders turn from worshipping the throne, and worship the Lamb.
The Lamb is divine, and worthy of worship. His being the only to be able to open the scroll demonstrates how He was the only one capable of saving the world from death. The elders and beasts turn now to the Lamb.
Worthy of worship, worthy to be celebrated
Because a sacrificial Lamb was given, each of us is able to be forgiven of sin. Worthy is the Lamb means the Savior was capable of saving, which is a cause worth celebrating and rememberinig each day through righteous living.
